Lost crews of WW2

During the Second World War, Yorkshire was home to around 40 airfields, many in the flat areas of the Vale of York. More than 18,000 airmen died flying from the Yorkshire airfields, some lost on training flights, because of weather conditions or aircraft malfunction. The memorials here are just two of many. Both these aircraft were on training flights, and both crashed within a week of one another, in February 1944.

Memorial to crew of Halifax bomber, Garrowby Hill

There’s something particularly moving about finding a memorial, by chance, in a place you wouldn’t expect. We were out in the car heading for a village off the A166. We missed the turning and had to turn round in a layby. At the edge of the layby, in front of a cornfield, was this memorial, erected by Alun Emlyn-Jones, remembering his comrades.

The inscription states that the memorial marks the location where, on 7 February 1944, at 10am, Halifax bomber DK192 from RAF Rufforth crashed in 10/10ths cloud during a training flight, killing all the crew. The driver of a milk lorry, Mr Arthur Wood Kirkby, who was passing on the road, was also killed.

Memorial to crew of Lancaster bomber, Aldborough

The villagers of Aldborough erected this memorial in 1994, to mark the 50th anniversary of another Second World War crash, which occurred on 2 February 1944.

The Lancaster bomber, of 432 Squadron, Royal Canadian Air Force, was another bomber on a training flight. Five of the crew were from the Canadian forces, two from the RAF. Flight Sgt Kenneth Huggins was a Yorkshireman, from Bradford.

The inscription records that the plane had caught fire, and was losing height, but the pilot ‘with great skill, managed to avoid the village and instead came down on Studforth Hill, a short distance to the south.’

It is clear, as you read these details, why the memorial was erected not just ‘in memory of’, but ‘in grateful memory of’.

You may also be interested in …

Chocolate and Chicory: York and beyond, by bicycle. My book includes further information on the airfields around York, and mapped cycle routes from York visiting some of them. Chocolate and Chicory is an exploration of the local landscape, its stories and histories, via themed journeys along the cycle tracks outside the city walls and the country lanes beyond the ring road. Can also be enjoyed from the comfort of your sofa. Read more …

23 comments

I am trying to find details of a relative I never met who died in WW2. I am told he lost his life whilst on an RAF training flight in Yorkshire in 1941/42/43/. So far i have had no luck and don’t realy know where to start

Hello Jim
His name was Alexader Forsyth, a metroplolitan policeman who was in the Royal Airforce Volunteer Reserve.
According to his police records he died in 1944 on ‘active’ service but family stories suggest he was on a training flight over yorkshire.

The Alexander Forsyth you are asking about was my uncle. My father was his youngest brother, Frank. He also had another brother, David. Uncle Alec’s grave is in the RAF cemetery in Harrogate. I am in touch with my cousins by Uncle David. I have a sister, Jean

The details of the crash involving Sgt Alexander Forsyth A/G.
‘9th March 1944…. A Halifax V .DJ998…GG-E of 1667 Heavy Conversion Unit, took off from Sandtoft at 13-30hrs on a training flight for dual circuit,s and landing,s, but only 5 minutes had elapsed when the Halifax spun into the ground from 700ft, bursting into flames as it impacted at Belton, roughly 7 miles west-south-west from Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire.Four were buried at Harrogate (Stonefall) Cemetery,while the other,s were conveyed to their home town,s. The pilot F/O. S. Burton DFC had flown a tour of operation,s with 625 Squadron…..the crew were;
F/O. S. Burton DFC……………+
P/O. E.J. Patterson. RNZAF…….+
Sgt. G.R. Marshall……………+
Sgt. R.G. William,s…………..+
Sgt. J. MacMillan-Clark……..+
Sgt. D. St.Clair……………+
Sgt. D.R.W. Hall……………..+
Sgt. A. Forsyth…………….+

Thank you, David. This information is really helpful. I believe about 8-9000 men were lost on training flights. What a waste of life. Presumably there were mechanical problems with the planes.
I shall pass on information to my cousins

Richard Allenby’s site http://www.yorkshire-aircraft.co.uk/ would be a good place to look. It doesn’t have a search facility though as far as I can see, and it is a large site, so it might be hard to find the info if you don’t have an exact date. You can search though from Google, put this into the Google search box and put your relative’s name where I’ve used ‘Smith':

site:yorkshire-aircraft.co.uk smith

Hope that’s helpful, good luck with your search and I’d love to know if you do find the information you’re looking for.

The yorkshire air museum has records of all air crashes in yorkshire and these can be viewed at the museum…I would suggest using the commonwealth war graves records to obtain a date for your relatives death and refer to the yorkshire records for crashes near that date

hi Micheal
think this is the right one, hope it helps, with date and service number it should help a bit more with your search,
FORSYTH, ALEXANDER
Rank:Sergeant
Trade:Air Gnr.
Service No:1894970
Date of Death:09/03/1944
Regiment/Service:Royal Air Force Volunteer Cemetery:HARROGATE CEMETERY
Son of Alexander and Isabella Forsyth; husband of Zena Forsyth, of Monks Orchard, Surrey.

Excellent information Mark,thank you very much.My next quest is to find out what type of aircraft they were in and where the crash happened.My understanding is they were on a training flight. Any advice you can give on where I should start looking would be appreciated

I don’t know if anyone can help…my uncle John Joseph Westland became a Navigator on a Halifax aircraft, having trained in Yorkshire and was apparently shot down in a raid on Kiel on 26 / 27 Feb 1942. I would love to know more about his history.

Took off 1823 hrs Lemming. lost without trace. All are commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial.

…………………………..

The Kiel raid of 26/27 February 1942

49 aircraft – 33 Wellingtons, 10 Hampdens, 6 Halifaxes – to attack the floating dock. 2 Wellingtons and 1 Halifax lost.
Crews claimed good results in clear weather with bombs close to the floating dock. A high-explosive bomb scored a direct hit on the bows of the Gneisenau, causing severe damage and killing 116 men in the crew. This proved to be the end of Gneisenau as a fighting unit. Bombing in the town of Kiel destroyed several houses and killed 16 people.

Hi Linda, your uncle, Sgt JJ Westland, took off in a Halifax MKII, serial V9986, ZA-M,OF 10 Sqn, RAF Leeming, at 18-23 hrs on 26/2/42, bound for ops to Kiel. I will investigate further and post anything I find that is of significance, hope this helps, regards, Dave

hello Michael Davis
Your uncle Joined the Met Police on 9/3/31. He was issued with the unique once only use Warrant Number 120800. This is signed for by the officer in a ledger on his day of joining. It is never reissued or reused. Your uncle last served a a constable on L Division which is the lambeth area. Incidentally the other air gunner on the aircraft Douglas Robert Hall was also a Metropolitan Policeman from north London. I have no information that the men knew one another. Regards Kevin